1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to burners for combustion of hydrocarbon fluids and is particularly suitable for use during drilling and/or production testing of oil and gas wells.
2. Description of the Prior Art
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,797,992 titled Crude Oil Burner; 3,861,857 titled Flammable Liquid Waste Burner; and 3,995,985 titled Crude Oil Burner disclose burners which are designed for use while testing oil and gas well production. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,995,985 and 3,861,857 further disclose the use of flammable gas to boost the combustion of waste liquids and to produce a "smokeless" burn of heavy crude oil.
Frequently, hydrocarbons from downhole formations will become contaminated by drilling fluids (mud). Burning is one method for disposing of the resulting mixture. Also, many types of crude oil are very difficult to burn as produced at the well surface. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,914,094 titled Waste Oil Burner; 4,141,505 titled Heavy Fuel Oil Nozzle; and 4,155,702 titled Burner disclose various devices which aid the combustion of hydrocarbon fluids having less than ideal burning characteristics. These patents describe various problems associated with burning heavy crude or waste oil.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,995 titled Burner Nozzle Assemble discloses a nozzle assembly which internally mixes compressed gas with flammable fluids. The nozzle assembly uses the same compressed gas to shape and control the compound mixture of gas and flammable fluid after it exits the nozzle assembly.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,797,992; 3,861,857; 3,995,985; 3,914,094; 4,011,995; 4,141,505; and 4,155,702 are incorporated by reference for all purposes within this application.